Past News and Announcements

Note: Items of interest to MVS Officials and Coaches can now be found in the "Officials/Coaches" section.

Olympic Development Competition Meets

The following meets fulfill the requirements for Olympic Development Competition by USA Swimming for the 2007-2008 swim year. Swimmers requesting permission to attend these meets should be approved. Note: High School swimmers must request permission to attend these meets through their school administration.

4/17/07

All Missouri Valley Clubs

In the past few weeks MVS clubs have held sanctioned meets, duals, intrasquads, and blanket-sanctioned league meets that are not on the Master Meet Schedule. The sanctions for these meets require that meet hosts will email a meet entries file to the MVS Office prior to the meet. In many cases these "meet recon" files are not being received. The consequences of not performing a "meet recon" are that if unregistered swimmers participate in the meet and an accident occurs, USA Swimming insurance is not in effect. Secondly, unregistered swimmers and those who are entered in the meet with ID data that does not match, the SWIMS system will not have their times uploaded into the USAS national database and those swimmers will not have a record of their swims on their USAS "My Swim Page" or an IMX time for their IMX events. Make sure that you comply with your sanction and submit a meet recon file prior to the meet. If you have any questions about this process, please contact Dulcy at the MVS Office at mvsswim@sunflower.com.

11/21/06

Donations Requested to Honor Bob Steele’s Daughter

Dana (Steele) MacCrimmon, daughter of retired coach Bob Steele, passed away on August 11th from an aneurysm following a minor fire call she made as a member of the Carbondale Fire Department. Dana was a great giver to many causes that helped people improve themselves or their lives. She grew-up with swimming being held by Bob’s teammates as an infant, babysat by high schoolers in elementary school, serving as a runner at AAU meets, cheering Southern Illinois University swimmers as a teenager, partying with them as an SIU student, and finally attending Cal State University in her adult years. Dana was a swimming groupie although she was a gymnast for eight years and had degrees in anthropology, archeology, and was completing a master’s degree in speech therapy. She leaves three children, all college students.

Dana’s legacy will be teaching Fire Safety to over 1,300 Carbondale fifth graders and serving as the coordinator/director of the Southern Illinois Children’s Burn Camp for youngsters that had been hospitalized for burn treatment. She was a beautiful, giving counselor to disfigured young people with emotionally upsetting lives. Dana’s mission was to build self-esteem. She helped raise $15,000 annually to fund the camps at the SIU Touch of Nature Camps at Little Grassy Lake, which included providing transportation for the campers.

Coach Steele has chosen as a personal mission to maintain Dana’s legacy. He requests that teams or individuals make a donation to the Southern Illinois Children’s Burn Camp and to note on your check that it's for "Dana’s Kids." Send your contributions to the Carbondale Fire Department, 200 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale, IL 62901. An alternative would be to support your local Fire Department Burn Camp by tagging your team fundraiser, like Swim-A-Thon, as many teams do. Every state conducts camps and all raise funds and use volunteer help and counselors. Please support these great camps for kids in need so they may experience swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, and more.

Bob Steele is presently a Master Coach Consultant with USA Swimming. He was a very successful college coach at Southern Illinois University and a club development staff member at USAS prior to serving as Head Coach at the Wichita Swim Club from 1995-97. After leaving WSC, he was again a successful college coach at UC-Bakersfield prior to returning to USAS in his present position.

9/19/06

Incentive Program for Swimmers With A Disability

USA Swimming is inviting all clubs to participate in its new program designed to encourage meet hosts to devise creative and effective means of fostering inclusion of swimmers with a disability in their meets. Meet hosts will be rewarded $40 per swimmer with a disability competing in their meets. Additionally, a prize of $1000 will be awarded in September 2007 to the meet host with the best idea for fostering inclusion. Meet hosts are not required to participate in this contest to receive the reward per swimmer. For more information or contest rules, see the announcement for the USAS Incentive Program.

9/4/06

Dual Participation for KS High School Athletes

For those following the "dual participation for high school athletes" effort in the Kansas Legislature, on March 30th the House rejected their version of the bill, H 2345, by a vote of 41-79. The bill would have allowed high school swimmers to practice with private swim clubs and participate with varsity teams during their regular season. The Senate version of the bill, SB 317, was passed on Jan. 26th by a vote of 33-7.

In defeating the House bill, several representatives said they thought the bill intruded on the authority of the Kansas State High School Activities Association. They also said House Bill 2345 could open the door to requests from representatives of other sports who may want to practice with private teams while competing in high school events. Rep. Eric Carter, an Overland Park Republican sponsoring the bill, said it would have allowed Kansas swimmers to catch up with other states' swimmers who are allowed to practice with private teams. He said the extra workouts would have helped them to get college scholarships and make Olympic swimming teams. At present, Kansas is one of only eight states that still prohibit high school athletes from training outside of high school.

The House bill remains in the Federal and State Affairs Committee, however, passage during this session of the Legislature is now considered very unlikely.

4/2/06

A Note from Your Senior Athlete Representative

Most people don't have a clue what the Missouri Valley Athlete Representative does. To tell you the truth, when I began serving my term as Athlete Representative, I really had no clue what I was supposed to do either. So I thought it would help all the prospective and future MVS Athlete Representatives by telling everyone what an Athlete Representative does.

As an Athlete Representative, you are allowed to attend the USA Swimming Convention and have a voice but no vote. This means that you can go to the Convention and speak out on all the issues being debated, but on Saturday at the House of Delegates meeting you are not allowed to vote. Before I go further I should first explain what leads up to the House of Delegates meeting on Saturday.

Each day at the Convention begins with meetings. You get a book with the schedule of daily meetings and can pick which one you think would be most interesting to attend. There are a few required meetings, though, and all the Athlete Representatives from around the country have to attend the Athlete Meetings and their respective Zone meetings, which in our case was the Central Zone meeting. The Athlete Meetings are not only interesting and informative, but you can also talk about any issues that you have with swimming. For example, this year we spent a lot of time discussing how we could make swimming a more publicized sport. Some of our ideas included having a type of little league world series for swimming, or just having more meets like "Duel in the Pool", to bring more attention to our sport. We also discussed issues that we had with our actual meets. For instance, we spent a long time brainstorming ideas on how to make the Zone Meet sessions go faster. Then on Friday afternoon at the Athletes Meeting, we always go over the rules and regulations that will be brought up at the House of Delegates meeting on Saturday. The House of Delegates is the final meeting of the weekend where all the issues that have come about during the week are debated, changed or reworded, then either adopted or rejected, depending on the voting.

But the USA Swimming Convention is not all about meetings. It is really a lot of fun. You go into the weekend knowing hardly anyone and come out with tons of new friends. All the other Athlete Representatives are in the same boat as you are, and they don't know anyone either, so everyone is very eager to meet new people. The athletes also do all kinds of fun activities together. The first year that I went, the synchronized swimmers taught all the USA Swimming athletes a synchronization routine. That was pretty funny to watch. Then on the final night there is a banquet. At the banquet they give out awards to divers, synchronization swimmers and coaches, USAS swimmers and coaches, and masters swimmers. The masters swimmers are some of the funniest people there. They are hilarious. This year the USAS Swimmer of the Year was Aaron Peirsol. It was so neat because I actually got to meet him. We got our picture taken together and I now have his autograph hanging on my wall.

The Convention is an amazing experience and I thought that I should share it with everyone so they would know what the Athlete Representatives actually do. Thank you all for giving me this wonderful experience!

Kate Sweeney
Missouri Valley Senior Athlete Representative
Daisy271437@aol.com

10/1/05

Child Labor Laws and Lifeguarding

Anyone representing a country club, organization or municipality with a swimming pool, etc., may be interested in a recent ruling by the Department of Labor.

It is unlawful for anyone under 16 years of age to work as a lifeguard at a swimming pool, unless they have been trained and certified by the American Red Cross or a similarly recognized certifying organization. If they've had that training, then 15 year-olds can work as lifeguards and can use hand tools to clean the pool and pool area. They can also test water quality and add chemicals. They are prohibited, however, from entering or working in any chemical storage areas, including areas where filtration and chlorinating systems are located.

Fifteen year-olds (even if they are Red Cross trained) are not permitted to work as lifeguards at rivers, streams, lakes, or water amusement park facilities featuring things like elevated slides, artificial waves, etc.

If you have any questions about this ruling, please let Terry Mann know and he'll send you copy of the DOL's letter ruling. You can contact him at:

Terry L. Mann
Martin, Pringle, Oliver, Wallace & Bauer, L.L.P.
100 N. Broadway, Suite 500
Wichita, Kansas 67202
(316)265-9311
(316)265-2955 (fax)
tlmann@martinpringle.com

8/17/05

MVS Appoints New Treasurer

Missouri Valley Swimming is proud to announce the appointment of Jolisa Buchner as the new MVS Treasurer. Jolisa replaces Theresa Johnson and will serve a two-year term beginning in September. Theresa was unable to continue as Treasurer due to other sudden personal obligations. We wish Theresa all our best and thank her for all of her hard work, dedication, and the endless hours spent in serving the needs of our LSC over the past three years. We couldn't have done it without you, Theresa!

Jolisa is married to Don Buchner and they have two girls, Hannah (15) and Rachel (11), both swimming for the Lawrence Aquahawks. Both Don and Jolisa have served two years on the Aquahawks Board as Membership Chairs, and Jolisa is currently serving an additional two years on their Board as Treasurer. After bouncing across the country from southern California to Connecticut, then across the Pacific to Sydney, Australia, Jolisa and Don arrived in Lawrence in 2001 and joined the Aquahawks with their daughter, Hannah. Prior to settling at home to be with her girls, Jolisa worked as a Buyer, Operations Manager and then Marketing Director within the Western Region of Circle K, a retail/gasoline chain. Currently, Jolisa enjoys spending time with her family, being involved with their daughters' school and activities, playing tennis, and trying to keep up with the family while retaining her sanity!  Jolisa can be reached via email at djhrinoz@sunflower.com

Please welcome Jolisa Buchner to the MVS family and we look forward to working with her over the next two years!

7/21/05

Kansas State House Bill No. 2345

Missouri Valley Swimming will be offering assistance with the legislative efforts and activities relevant to House Bill No. 2345.  A meeting with Representative Eric Carter, who has proposed the bill, and interested parents was held after the Saturday morning preliminary competition of the Region VIII/Sectional Championship in Topeka, Kansas on March 5th.

HOUSE BILL No. 2345
By Representative Carter

AN ACT concerning the Kansas State High School Activities Association; relating to the powers and duties thereof.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

Section 1. (a) The Kansas State High School Activities Association shall not adopt any rules and regulations which:

(1) Infringe in any manner on the right of a student athlete to compete in or train for any athletic event duly sanctioned by the national governing body for that sport as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee; and

(2) impose any form of punishment or sanction against any student athlete for competing in or training for any athletic event sanctioned by the national governing body for the sport as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee.

(b) The provisions of this section shall apply only to those sports under the jurisdiction of the United States Olympic Committee and known to be ‘‘olympic’’ sports.

Section 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the statute book.

3/3/05

Remembering Belva Wilcox

Belva Wilcox, Missouri Valley Swimming Chairperson from 1988 through 1990, died Monday, January 10, 2005 in Wichita, Kansas. Belva and her husband Jerry were strong supporters of swimming in Missouri Valley. Jerry served as Chairman from 1983 to 1986. In checking my records (as far back as 1978), Belva and Jerry were both referees at that time. They both gave countless hours to make our sport the success that it is today.

Jerry and Belva both went to school at Tulsa University. Jerry was a petroleum geologist/land man for the Garvey Company in Wichita. Belva and Jerry met at TU and by Jerry’s account he must have been awe struck, even though it took Belva asking Jerry out to start the relationship. They were married in 1954 and had 50+ years together. Belva was an English major at TU and taught in the Wichita school system, but mostly she had to keep control of four children, Victoria Ann, Jeffery Thompson, Christopher Arden, and Andrew Parker. Both Chris and Andy were competitive swimmers. They swam at the West Branch YMCA in Wichita and with the Wichita Y Neptunes.

Jerry and Belva were both MVS referees and KSHSAA referees. Always a good referee, Andy tells me that his mom DQ’d him for a dropped shoulder in breast stroke at a big high school meet. Even after their children were out of swimming they remained active. Belva was a national official at Olympic Trials and she served on the USS Adaptive Swimming Committee.

Belva faced many tough medical problems over the last years. She had diabetes and heart problems that kept her from being active the last 8-10 years. I saw the Wilcox’s a couple of years ago and even though Belva could not get around very well she still wanted to take care of me when I visited them. I talked to Belva and Jerry when the sectionals were held in Wichita last summer.

Duane Smith, MVS Officials Chair during the late 70’s to mid 80’s, described Belva as follows: "She was a person who did life and her swimming jobs with spirit, a smile and a willingness to do whatever she was asked to do to get things done."

George Schluter

1/21/05

MVS Club Links on USAS Website

A new feature has been unveiled on the USA Swimming website. Link City (the USS page for club links) has gone away. Instead, when a visitor to the USS website does a club search the results includes a link to a "Club Portal" page. When the Club Portal link is clicked the next page shows the club's physical address and a list of coaches attached to that club. If a club has their own website, the link will also appear on this page and a visitor will be able to click on the link to access the club's website.

For the club website address to appear on your Club Portal page, you MUST INCLUDE your website link on your USS/MVS Membership Application Form, and that website address will then be entered into the USS SWIMS system by the MVS Office. The Club Portal page will pull your website link directly from the SWIMS system. There will be no other way for your club's website to be linked from USA Swimming's website other than by including it on your USS/MVS Membership Application.

The USS Club Search also has some other new features. Club Portal is actually an individual web page in itself for each club. The club can appoint a "club administrator" to enter information for their club. This page is password-protected so that only one person has access to update/add/edit the page. There is also a page on the club's Portal for "announcements", "upcoming meets", "practice schedules", "meet results", and "facilities." Besides the Club Portal link that appears in the Club Search there is a link called "Map to Pools Used." This information will be be entered through the Club Profile section by the club administrator.

Remember, you MUST include your website address on the USS/MVS Membership Application or it will not be included on the USS website.

10/16/04

Perry Wins Gold at Paralympics in Athens

Congratulations to Wichita Swim Club member Jarrett Perry for winning a gold medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. Perry won the S9 division of the men's 100-meter backstroke in a time of 1 minute, 5.35 seconds. He won by .07 seconds over Britain's James Crisp, the world-record holder.

Perry's backstroke victory came on the final event of his Games. After swimming the fastest time in the preliminaries, Jarrett came back from second place at the 50 split to win the event with a personal best time of 1:05.35, overtaking Crisp in the final 50 meters.

Earlier in the week, Perry also finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke, sixth in the 200 individual medley, seventh in the 400 freestyle and was part of the seventh-place U.S. team in the 4x100 relay.

8/25/04

Caroline Bruce Makes Her Olympic Debut

Wichita Swim Club's Caroline Bruce fell just short in her attempt to make the finals of the Olympic 200-meter breaststroke in Athens, Greece. Caroline posted the ninth-fastest time in the semifinals, missing the finals by one spot. Caroline finished fifth in her semifinal heat and ninth overall in the two heats. She finished eighth overall in the prelims earlier that morning with a time of 2:27.82. Caroline entered the competition ranked ninth in the world.

Bruce swam the semifinals race in 2:27.60, which was 22 hundredths of a second better than her preliminary time in the prelims earlier that morning, but was 65 hundredths of a second slower than the eighth-best time. Her personal best is 2:27.22, set at the Olympic Trials last month. Caroline went out stronger in the first 100 meters of the semifinal, but faltered slightly in the third 50 meters. She recovered strongly, finishing almost a half-second faster over the final 50 meters than the previous 50.

American and world-record holder Amanda Beard was the fastest semifinal finisher, racing in at 2:25.62. Beard eventually won the final competition for the 200-meter breaststroke finishing with a time of 2:23.37, which is a new Olympic record and earned Beard a Gold Medal.

8/19/04

Caroline Bruce is an Olympian!

Caroline Bruce, a member of the Wichita Swim Club, finished second in the 200-meter breaststroke on Monday, July12th, at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Long Beach, CA.  After placing seventh in the semifinals, Caroline came back from 4th place at the 150-meter mark to finish second with a time of 2:27.22.  Amanda Beard won in 2:22.44, a world record.  Both have made the Olympic team and earned a trip to Athens, Greece for the Olympic Games in August.

Caroline Bruce recorded the best time of her career in the event.  Her previous best was 2:27.88 during the U.S. Championships last August.  She entered the trials ranked 15th in the world this year and fifth-best among Americans.  During the finals, she improved  on her semifinal time from the day before by nearly three seconds!

Not only did she swim the fastest time of her life, she also had to beat three former Olympians.  Kristy Kowal finished third, 0.77 seconds behind Caroline.  Megan Quann was sixth and Staciana Stitts eighth.  Tara Kirk, who had the second-fastest semifinal time, finished fifth.

The 200 breaststroke was the third event Caroline Bruce swam at the trials.  She made it to the semifinals in the 100 breaststroke and finished fifth in the finals of the 200 individual medley.

7/12/04

Eight Athletes Represent MVS at Olympic Trials

Eight athletes from four MVS clubs were in Long Beach, CA representing their clubs and Missouri Valley Swimming at the US Olympic Swimming Trials.  Athletes who qualified for this year's Olympic Trials were:

Kansas City Blazers - Peter Malone, Head Coach

• Aubry, Ashton (Age: 15)
• Duncan, Danielle (Age: 19)
• Jaben, Max (Age: 18)

Mizzou - Brian Hoffer, Head Coach

• Wolfe, Rebecca (Age: 21)

Southwest Missouri Aqua Bears - Randy Horner, Head Coach

• Wegrzyn, Joshua (Age: 24)

Wichita Swim Club - Eric Nelson, Head Coach

• Bruce, Caroline (Age: 18)
• Bruce, George (Age: 22)
• Soelter, Alison (Age: 17)

There were 689 athletes from 248 teams entered in the meet, for a total of 1270 splashes.

7/6/04

Remembering June Madden

June Madden, a true friend of swimming and Missouri Valley Swimming, died November 28, 2003. Many people active in our sport today did not have the opportunity to work with June as I did over a number of years. I want to relate a little bit of history of June as I know it; however I met her long after she had given many hours to our sport as a parent and a volunteer.  [read more...]

12/12/03

Timeline for Championship Meet Information

To help ensure that accurate information for MVS championship meets is provided to member clubs in a timely manner, a distribution timeline has been established for clubs hosting championship meets. This timeline assigns specific deadlines and responsibilities that must be followed by each host club and the respective MVS officers. [View the Timeline]

11/6/03

Dues Increase for MVS Membership

The USA Swimming 2002 House of Delegates has approved the following dues increase for MVS members:

There are no changes to Outreach, Sports Medicine, Affiliate, Allied or Life memberships.

11/5/03